Allegedly the last words of Julius Caesar as he was attacked and he recognised his friend Brutus was in the group that were trying to kill him. We can speculate whether that is true or not but it really matters not. Some say that the words were invoked as a response of surprise when Caesar saw his friend, another point of view is that they were part of an invocation that Caesar delivered a curse to Brutus , E tu which was an abbreviated proverb which in its long form was You too will have a taste of power, meaning that Brutus himself would also suffer the same fate.
I have had a number of E tu moments when people have sought to attack me, it comes with the territory when one is involved in politics especially when you are a politician of conviction, conviction politics is the practice of campaigning based on a politician’s own fundamental values or ideas rather than attempting to represent an existing consensus or simply take positions that are popular in polls. I have said before that a popularity contest is not often won by telling the truth and I am not known for my populist views or my tolerance for village idiots who run for their pitchforks and torches at the slightest provocation.
This is a cost of politics that I am happy to pay, frustrated perhaps because it is the rugby equivalent of tackling the player without the ball, essentially a foul. I generally don’t respond to those kinds of attacks however frustrating they are it is what it is. I do start to get angry when these involve my family, if people are unhappy with me and want to have a crack fair enough but extend to my family and you better make sure you have your armour for you because I will come after you and protect my family.
These kinds of attacks are sometimes open and people are easily spoken to, I guess in one sense that is principled however it is the anonymous attacks that are just a bit harder to deal with. Fair enough if such attacks are based on truth and are valid however when they are conjecture, fraudulent or just lies it is just a bit more difficult to deal with. In my experience people who make these kinds of attacks are the people who have the most to hide, a saying I learnt some time ago sums it up neatly, when people point a finger they have the other three pointing back at them.
Recently someone tried to sabotage me, they mad an anonymous complaint that alleged wrong doing on my part, I was angry and to a degree flabbergasted, unfortunately for them and for me really by analysing the language and the nature of the complaint I am able to identify who made that complaint and it is an E tu moment. The person who made the complaint has a closet full of skeletons, serious skeletons that if exposed to he light would ruin them and have extremely serious consequences for those around them.
The normal response to such an incident would be to go right to that closet and open up the door for all to see however I don’t see myself as normal, probably something that my detractors would agree with (and some of my friends). I must admit to remain non normal in the light of this provocation was difficult at first however in the end it is the principled position, it doesn’t depend on there being an E tu moment for that person, nor does it depend on any belief in Karma or any notion of that they will regret their action. I will confess a fleeting desire to wreak havoc on this person (well at least tell them off severely) however I have left it.
I have dealt with the allegation, taken it on the chin as it were, I have verbalised my hurt and in writing this I am also processing the hurt but that is not my main point. I recently engaged in a conversation around the actions of a parking warden. I was surprised and concerned about the legalistic points of view that people were sharing, they showed a complete lack of grace and a callous disregard for wellbeing of the target of the parking warden. I shan’t go on anymore merely I shall invoke a commandment. Love thy neighbour as thyself. As hard as this is it then demands of me that I put aside all thoughts of revenge and simply accept that the grace that Christ has shown to me is to be extended to the person who sought to bring me down. Not an easy task however being a person of conviction is never easy.
Paul
Est dierum antiquorum, meditatus, otherwise known as Wool gathering 